Ashwin's top 10 performances in IPL/CL T20

R. Ashwin just turned 27. Chennai will once again look for his heroics in the upcoming Champions League T20 starting from the 21^st of this month. Ashwin, a T20 cricket specialist, was first noticed in the same format of the game and eventually was selected for the One-Day and Test squads, has proven to be a trump card for the CSK time and again in the IPL and CL tournaments.

The Indian Premier League is to be credited for finding this gem of a bowler, who has confounded so many with his carom ball and his trademark bowling action which features a slight pause before his arm rolls over to deliver the ball.

Ashwin was Man of the Series in the 2010 Champions League played in South Africa, being the highest wicket taker with 13 wickets in the tournament. He is also the most economical bowler in IPL history with an economy rate of 6.12.

With some really exciting T20 cricket round the corner, here are Ashwin’s 10 best performances while playing for the Chennai Super Kings.

10. 2/32 vs Sydney Sixers (CLT20, Johannesburg, 2012)

Although Chennai lost the contest, the Chennai bowlers tried really hard. Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for Chennai with the two wickets of Maddinson and Haddin.

9. 2/28 vs Central Districts (CLT20, Durban, 2010)

Ashwin was the star of the 2010 Champions League. He performed and scalped victims almost every game.

The Chennai batsmen were facing the heat after a questionable decision by Dhoni who opted to bat first on a fresh seaming pitch. Vijay, Hayden and Raina were back in the pavilion without doing much. It was only after that that Badrinath scored an unbeaten 50 and CSK managed to 151 on the board.

The bowlers did not give the Districts any chance as they took wickets at regular intervals to restrict their total to a meagre 94. Ashwin played his part with 2 dismissals that helped tighten the screws from the onset itself. The Districts had lost 6 wickets in the first 10 overs, after which the target was virtually out of their sight. Chennai won by 57 runs.

8. 2/19 vs Delhi Daredevils (IPL, Chennai, 2013)

Ashwin bowled with an economy of 4.75, when Chennai was defending a total of 168. They eventually won by 33 runs. He claimed a well-settled Botha in the 7^th over of the innings and later took the wicket of van der Merwe and broke a 39 run partnership that was threatening to take the game away from them, with David Warner tying up the other end of the wicket.

The win gave Chennai the no. 2 spot in the play-offs which got them 2 chances at winning the tournament.

7. 2/18 vs Delhi Daredevils (IPL, Delhi, 2013)

Once again the heroics of Mike Hussey enabled Chennai to put up a daunting total of 169. This time Ashwin was responsible for cleaning up the tail of the line-up, dismissing Agarkar and later hitting Morkel’s stumps with a gem of a delivery. Both of them are no novices with the bat and in a format where a couple of sixes can swing the game, the wicket of the big-hitter Morkel was crucial. He bowled with a disciplined line, giving away only 18 in his four overs. CSK won by a mammoth margin of 86 runs.

6. 4/18 vs Wayamba (CLT20, Centurion, 2010)

This was Ashwin’s best figures till date in a T20 game. Once again he bagged two in a single over, to reduce an already struggling Wayamba from 31-4 to 35-6 in the 5^th over of the game. Chasing 200 runs put up on the scoreboard by CSK thanks to blazing knocks from Vijay and Raina, Wayamba lost the plot here itself, and it was a matter of time before they were bowled out for a 103, with Ashwin returning to claim 2 tail enders Herath and Mendis. Morkel provided the early breakthroughs, dismissing number 2,3 and 4 of the Wayamba lin-up.

5. 2/16 vs Warriors (CLT20, Johannesburg, 2010)

The final of the tournament that belonged to Ashwin was no different from the other games, if we compare what Ashwin had to contribute to the bowling department of CSK. With a brilliant economy of 4 per over and two wickets, one of them being Jacobs who had raced to a quick-fire 34 off 21 balls, Ashwin helped Muralitharan (3/16 in his 4) in dismantling the Warriors innings to a gettable 128 runs.

Ashwin has been rightly given the reputation of one who breaks settled players and partnerships, and that too key ones. This game was no different as Jacobs’ dismissal was a key moment of the match, after which the Chennai bowlers were able to tighten the screws on the Warriors innings and even slow down their scoring rate. Ashwin had once again provided the required breakthrough to his team. Chennai won with 8 wickets and an over to spare and lifted the trophy.

4. 3/24 vs Warriors (CLT20, Port Elizabeth, 2010)

Chennai won by a narrow margin of 10 runs in a low scoring game which saw Ashwin in perfect touch, who gave away 6 an over. He removed Kreusch and Boucher in the 18^th over of the game, when both of whom had settled down with scores of 25 each, and with 30 odd runs required in the next 3 overs, Warriors were favourites to win the game. Ashwin didn’t plan to let that happen, and played a major role in his side’s triumph.

It’s this knack of his to pick up the most crucial wickets at the perfect times that renders him such a dangerous bowler to deal with.

3. 3/23 vs Delhi Daredevils (IPL, Chennai, 2012)

With the help of Murali Vijay’s classy knock of a 113, Chennai posted a target of 222 in the 2^nd qualifying game of the IPL against the Delhi Daredevils. With more than 11 runs needed per over, Ashwin was just the bowler that CSK could rely on. And sure enough, he didn’t disappoint. He gave away a run a ball and claimed 3 wickets.

Once again, it was Ashwin who got the most important wicket of the match, cleaning up the wily customer Jayawardene who had scored an electric 55 off 38, hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes. Delhi always had a fair chance till Jayawardene was there at the crease. They reached 100 in the 12^th over and Chennai’s 222 suddenly wasn’t looking good enough. But when Dhoni has trump cards like Ashwin at his disposal, he can be sure that the opposition will not get away. Delhi lost by a huge margin of 86 runs.

2. 3/16 vs Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL, Chennai, 2009)

Kolkata had a horde of many big hitters in their line-up, and they must have definitely hoped to set Chennai a bigger target than which required only a run rate of 7 per over to run down.

Man of the Match Ashwin got 3 scalps with the new ball on a surface that favoured the turning ball. When one picks up the wickets of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum in the 3^rd over of the game, there is nothing more a bowling captain can ask for. Ashwin, not being done yet, returned in his next over to confound David Hussey who was caught outside the line by wicket-keeper MS Dhoni.

Ashwin has repeatedly been trusted by Dhoni with the new ball, and he has delivered more often than not. In a format which favours the batsmen, to come up with your spinners and carom balls and to be able to contain them and take wickets, really speaks volumes about Ashwin’s talents.

Kolkata never really recovered from the early shocks and managed 139, which the Super Kings blasted away, winning the game in the 14^th over with 9 wickets to spare.

1. 3/16 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL, Chennai, 2011)

This is Ashwin’s best performance till date, which helped the CSK on their road to winning the IPL 2011. With a massive target of 205 set by Chennai who batted first, their bowlers were in no mood to allow the Challengers to even get close. It was nothing new to see Dhoni give Ashwin the new ball of the 2^nd inning, and sure enough, he responded- removing Gayle in the very first over, when he edged the ball and Dhoni did the rest behind the stumps. Gayle’s was the most prized wicket, because he can make a mockery of a big score once he gets going, and is then difficult to stop. You get him early, you are safe. That’s exactly what Ashwin did. He came back in his next over and clean bold Mayank Agarwal to reduce the score to 16-2 in the third over, after which other bowlers chipped in and RCB could never make it.

This performance is his best because of the enormity of the occasion and the fact that he removed the biggest roadblock for Chennai, which is nothing new. He does have a habit of claiming the best of the lot that the batting line-up has to offer. This time around, he set the stage by sending back the openers to the pavilion early in the innings, on which the other bowlers came along and did the needful. Chennai won the game by 58 runs.